San Marcos band The Couch had their first official EP release show at Triple Crown this last week. Members include Matt Adams on bass, Jud Johnson on drums, and Taylor Wilkins on vocals and guitar. Formed in 2007, The Couch has been an active part of the scene here in San Marcos.

“Judd and I knew each other, we met each other in the first grade. We lived across the street from each other. Judd went to Texas State, I went to UTSA. At UTSA I met Taylor, and we started playing music together,” said Evans.

Listing such influences as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles, The Couch’s music is a contemporary blend of classic rock and funk, pulsing drums and bass line, and a deliberate groove reminiscent of The White Stripes. Their sets feature original works in which each member of the band influences their own particular piece. The result is a style of music that has quite a large following locally.

As with any band, there are some songs that the band or fans connect with more than others. “I’m a big fan of ‘Small Faces’ because it’s a throwback to the whole ’70s super-groove thing. It’s a big funky bass groove, and there’s a universal constant of meter and groove. That song really brings that out,” said Johnson. “There was this couple just bumping and grinding on each other, that’s all I want to see. I want to see people moving and dancing, that’s what I’m going for; the dance and the backbeat.”

Playing host to their release party, The Triple Crown was packed with friends, fans, and the usual musically inclined crowd. “This is our favorite place to play. The Triple Crown has got a very good, all-encompassing acceptance in terms of who they allow to play, it’s really inspirational. They have really good sound guys and they really take care of the bands,” said Johnson.

Their self-titled EP cover features a picture of what appears to be Arsenio Hall, drawn by Doug Pollard. All seven tracks were engineered and mixed by the band and Jarett Bostick of Grey Skull Productions, and many fans at the show were taking advantage of the opportunity to buy one.

“This is our first really legitimate recording. We did a kind of a home recording thing that we disregarded about a year ago,” said Johnson. “We recorded four or five songs but it wasn’t very well put together. This one was our first actual studio recording. It turned out pretty well, it had a few kinks here and there but we got it done and that was the point.”

This album was a true labor of love. “We had a two-day stint at Top Hat in Ausin. We showed up there July 12 at 10 AM, recorded all day until 2 AM, went to bed and woke up at 8 AM, and then did it all again. We did 10 songs in two days. On Christmas break we’re trying to look toward doing our next batch of EPs, I’m not really adamant about doing the whole album concept in terms of 10 plus songs. We’re going to try to do them four at a time and release them,” said Johnson.

There are no final dates yet for upcoming concerts, but they will be playing again soon. For more information on The Couch or to hear their music, visit www.myspace.com/thecouchmusic or e-mail thecouchmusic@gmail.com.